playoff preview: orleans vs. harwich

1 Orleans Cardinals (25-17-2) vs. 2 Harwich Mariners (24-20)

Game 1: Saturday at Orleans, 7 p.m.

Game 2: Sunday at Harwich, 7 p.m.

Game 3 (if necessary): Monday at Orleans, 7 p.m.

The Orleans Cardinals finished the regular season with the best record in the league.

Their record in July is the reason for that. Their record in August might be a reason to worry.

Orleans kind of backed into the playoffs, going 2-5 over the last two weeks of the season. That means the team that was hottest for the longest stretch this season isn't even as hot as their opponent.

Harwich enters the playoffs having won four straight games. Included in that stretch: two victories over Orleans.

So this series looks a lot more even than it would have in July.

SEASON SERIES

Six Meetings

Orleans: 3 wins (3-2, 2-1, 10-5)

Harwich: 3 wins (11-3, 3-1, 5-3)

Total Runs: Harwich 27, Orleans 22

Each team went 2-1 at home.

Last Meeting

On the second-to-last day of the season, Harwich got a big performance by ace Chris Manno to beat Orleans 5-3. That made two in a row for the Mariners over Orleans.

TEAM CAPSULE - ORLEANS

Offensive Leaders

Average: Matt Bowman - .277

Home Runs: Angelo Songco - 8

RBI: Angelo Songco - 26

For a long time, the Cardinals were the worst offensive team in the league. They snapped out of it in a big way to put their streak together, but they've hit the skids a little bit since then. Losing Rich Poythress and Cole Figueroa hurt, but the cupboard isn't bare, and the Cardinals should have enough offense to make a go of it. Bowman is the leading hitter, but there are three other key players hitting in that range. Tim Wheeler is the team's table-setter, and Songco the run producer.

Pitching Leaders

ERA: Brad Stillings - .82

Wins: Rob Rasmussen and Matt Thomson - 4

Strikeouts: Rob Rasmussen - 43

When you go down the list pitcher-by-pitcher, the Orleans staff doesn't look that impressive. But as a group, the Cardinals have led the league in ERA for most of the season. One of the keys is quality depth. You could go pretty deep into the Orleans bullpen before you hit an ERA over four. As for the starters, Thomson has been very good, but the Cardinals will need big things from Martin Viramontes and Rob Rasmussen if they're to move on.

TEAM CAPSULE - HARWICH

Offensive Leaders
Average: Tommy Medica - .352
Home Runs: Brandon Belt - 5
RBI: Brandon Belt - 25

Medica has quietly ascended the leading hitters list all summer, and he ended up finishing third. That kind of sums up the whole Harwich offense. The Mariners will sneak up on you. They're not that far up the list in team batting average or home runs, but they've scored the second-most runs in the league. Both Belt and Andrew Giobbi have driven in a lot of runs despite having low batting averages. Joseph Sanders has been hitting all year, while Shaver Hansen and D.J. LeMahieu have also played big roles.

Pitching Leaders
ERA: Chris Manno - 1.93

Wins: Sean Black, Brian Dupra, Chris Manno and Ryan Quigley - 3

Strikeouts: Michael Morrison - 46

Harwich is behind only Orleans in the team ERA category. Manno and game one starter J.J. Hoover make up maybe the best 1-2 punch of any of the playoff teams. If Willie Kempf and Steve Kalush can continue to pitch well out of the bullpen, the Mariners will be in business.

WHAT I THINK

The battle between the top two pitching teams may come down to how the pitching schedule shakes out. For instance, all-star J.J. Hoover is on the mound for Harwich tonight against Orleans' Brad Stillings. Stillings has good numbers but he's only made two starts. Then tomorrow night, it's Orleans ace Matt Thomson against William Bullock, who's had some ups and downs.

So I think that will have an impact. This isn't going to be ace-vs-ace, No. 2 vs No. 2, etc. Whoever pitches best will be proving that they really have the best "staff."

The other key will be offense. The pitching will most likely be good. The team that can get its offense going may have the edge.

As for a prediction, I've gone back and forth. I didn't like the way Orleans ended the season, and Harwich has a strong team. In the end, though, I'm going to stick with the Cardinals. It's going to go three, but just as they found a way to break out of the doldrums early in the season, they'll find a way again.